CORINNA, Maine — A “very big misunderstanding” resulted in about half a dozen Maine State Police troopers going to a farmhouse on Bowden Road Tuesday afternoon, Trooper Christopher Cookson said. A man emptying a trash receptacle thought he was being shot at by a homeowner. Read More

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If a person can’t read the law book and understand it and abide by it, he/she shouldn’t have one.
Shouldn’t have taken the shot he did.

Anonymous

I’d like to know more about the roadway he was shooting across. I’m all for people owning/shooting/hunting with guns but using them responsibly is paramount. Was this a heavily traveled road… was it paved? Shooting across it with wind and rain (i.e. harder to hear vehicles coming) is not the brightest idea.

Anonymous

If he shot across a public way it is against the law.

Anonymous

Shooting from or over a public paved
way:

A person is guilty of hunting from or over
a public paved way if that person shoots at any
wild animal or wild bird from any public paved
way or within 10 feet of the edge of the pavement
of the public paved way or from within the
right-of-way of any controlled access highway or
discharges any firearm or crossbow over a public
paved way (any road treated with bituminous or
concrete material).

The modern genre of werewolf books, TV series and movies are in complete agreement with the 1941 Hollywood classic film The Wolf Man. Yep, if you are so inclined, the full Moon will turn you into a lunatic werewolf.

Indeed, that rather antiquated word ‘lunacy’ comes from Luna, who was the Roman Goddess of the Moon. One definition of lunacy is “intermittent insanity once believed to be related to phases of the moon”.

This belief goes back a long way. The Roman scientist and military commander, Pliny the Elder, said that because the full Moon causes a very heavy nocturnal dew, it must also make the brain become “unnaturally moist”. That was how, he claimed, the Moon caused both epilepsy and lunacy. He was wrong.

Even so, the belief is still common today. One survey in the USA found that about 40 per cent of the general population, and 80 per cent of mental health professionals, believe that the phase of the Moon affects human behaviour.

And yet, 99+ per cent of the evidence says that the Moon has no effect on human behaviour.

/science – winning for a very long time.

Anonymous

I do not want, really, to be the one to tell you this, but your behavior for the last 30 minutes, is proof in the pudding of the theory, now calm down, watch some TV, it will be okay in the morning.

A full moon is nice to look at, but that is about it. It holds zero power over humans. None, Nada, Zippo.

Anonymous

It’s all psychological, no real effect. Though on animal behavior, I know deer tend to be a bit more active in their movements, the trail cameras show more activity on the game trails when the full moon is out.

A lot easier to see during a full moon and yes, it is all psychological.

Anonymous

And by contrast, the showshoe hare keeps a low profile during full moons in the winter, to reduce the risk of predation.

Anonymous

What changes people is not the moon as you say, but when they get too much salt on thier MCD’s fries and it’s too long a line to want to get them replaced. We call it Full Salt. There’s a Full Salt out there tonight, be careful.

Anonymous

Well close your shades and don’t open your door or go out today, cause all that “proof” you speak of is about to prove it’s self wrong.

Anonymous

First of all I find this whole line of discussion silly but I will put in my two cents worth any way.The moon is what controls the tides [water]the human body is made up of 90% water.To say science proves anything is a misnomer ,science is used to disprove a theory. Those who say science proves anything are fundamentally wrong in there assumption of what science means.And we all know what assumptions do.

Anonymous

First, the human body is, at most, 80 percent water.

Second, the moon’s gravitational effect on us is negligible compared to the Earth’s gravitational effect, as well as the gravitational effects of other people and other objects that are much closer to us than the moon.

Third, with all of the claims that a full moon affects behavior, where are the claims that the new moon affects behavior?

Read my post I am not making any statments one way or the other ,other than the 90% and you are right 80% is closer .

Superuser23

The last statements says it all. I can’t believe how a gun owner could simply not go up to the driver (probably without his gun) and warn him and get an acknowledgement, or better yet…wait until the driver leaves! Could someone not keep their gun down for a couple of minutes these days?

Anonymous

HEY CHARLIE LOOKIT IM A SHOOTIN’!!! BANGBANGBANG

Anonymous

Yeah really, how long would the wait had been? What if the garbage truck driver had a gun as well and acted in self defense and shot back at the homeowner who then believes the garbage truck driver is trying to shoot him and he then returns fire and all of a sudden… silence. The next scene would be the police showing up to a dead garbage truck driver and a dead homeowner and absolutely no motive. Boy, that would be a kicker!

Anonymous

As I remember it (quite clearly) Bowden Road and Pleasant Valley Road leading to it are paved. State law prohibits shooting across or from a paved road in Maine. Living in Corinna, owning long barrel weapons, and most likely being a deer hunter, the shooter knows that. The witness statement should have been taken and a summons issued under Title 12 as a result. To assume or mistakenly think that the District Attorney 35 miles away and not on scene in Corinna can make an informed decision to charge or not charge, when 6 troopers and the garbage truck driver were actually on scene really makes no sense. Being a case of gunfire, I am glad that I do not live there under that system of prosecutorial decision making.

AKMaineIac

“State law prohibits shooting across or from a paved road in Maine.”

Actually. The law is pretty clear. It prohibits HUNTING across or from a paved roadway. The law is silent on shooting across a roadway, like it or not, that is EXACTLY how the law is written.

If the man was not “hunting”, as in shooting at an animal, he was not in violation of title 12 or any section of the Maine Criminal Code.

May not like what he did, but that doesn’t make it a criminal act.

Anonymous

False.

See MRS Title 12, Sect. 11208: “A person may not… Discharge any firearm or crossbow over a public paved way.”

AKMaineIac

In the course of “hunting”. Not shooting at an animal or bird, you aint hunting anything. Title 12 doesn’t have anything to do with it.

Make your best case for “Reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon”, because that’d be the only offense involved and it’s going to require a heck of an affidavit. You’ll have to show that an ordinary and reasonable person would not have engaged in the behavior. Never having seen that stretch of road, I can’t say personally, for that stretch of road.

Anonymous

Methinks you need to read the applicable statute very carefully. There is no qualifier that for the act to be illegal it must be committed in the act of hunting. How much clearer do you want “A person may not discharge a firearm or crossbow over a public paved way”?

Furthermore, “This subsection does not prohibit a person who has a valid permit to carry a
concealed weapon from possessing that weapon on or near a public paved way as
long as it is not used for shooting at wild animals or wild birds or discharged
in violation of this subsection” shows that the statute is not restricted to hunting but to all discharges (“OR DISCHARGED IN VIOLATION OF THIS SUBSECTION” (emphasis added)).

Anonymous

Mr Gagan (bfgaz), you do not live in Maine at all. You are a continual critic of any law enforcement agency but Dexter. If you were so good at being an officer, why did you quit after only 8 years? If you have all these answers, why don’t you run for DA? I know- it’s because you make a ton of money as a “consultant” who lives in Arizona and gets paid to Monday morning quarterback the police. I know the Troopers mentioned in the article and both are professionals and if a summons needed to be issued it would have been. And here’s another thing- he can still be summonsed. Your lack of support for law enforcement might explain why you quit after only 8 years.

Anonymous

As frequently usual, you are once again mistaken. 1.) I left after 7 years for a much, much larger job with much greater income as I hope you have been able to do in your life as well. We consult with many law enforcement agencies across the USA, thankfully. 2.) There were 6 troopers there; not 2. 3.) Please become informed on our unending support for all competent agencies and officers, and perhaps make note of my written support on this site for South Portland PD, Dexter PD, Penobscot County SO, Augusta PD, Maine State Police and Hancock County SO.

It is unfortunate that you do not have the courage to identify yourself and also unfortunate that you for some reason cannot be informed on these matters. If you would like to have coffee with us the next time we are up there (in 1 week, then 2 weeks, and then again in 4 weeks) for more interviews, we would be pleased to. Our email is enddvh@cox.net. Thanks for your misplaced concern!

Anonymous

Guns dont kill people.

Anonymous

Once again we hear from the tolerant left. Your words are hurtful.

Jake_OO7

Sorry, the right are the high and mighty, your the ones that have to live up to your Sunday school teaching. ;}

Semipermeable

I am a gun owner, and I hate that idiots like this think the laws don’t apply to them and cost us all tax dollars when the police have to drive out there and sort it out. Incidents like this simply make us all look bad, and I’m not going to defend the guy. It takes way more then a stranger on the internet to hurt my feelings.

When a garbage man or someone is in my driveway, I stop shooting for 15 minutes and take a water break until they have left. It isn’t freaking hard. If they guy had no where else to shoot he should have gone to a range or a remote friend’s place.

Anonymous

So he was sighting his rifle in from the living room couch!???/

PabMainer

It’s important when doing this to make sure the window & screen are both up at the time…..and also that you and any others in the house are wearing ear plugs…..

AKMaineIac

Actually. The letter of the law would require him to shoot at an animal, while hunting, over a paved right of way in order to be in violation. He was NOT HUNTING. He was sighting in a rifle. Target shooting.

There is no law, other than that of common sense, against firing a rifle or any other firearm over a paved road.

If the road is lightly traveled, and he has appropriate visibility each way to see a car or person approaching from either direction. It likely is not illegal or reckless, regardless of what someone else who knows nothing of the situation might think.

Anonymous

See MRS Title 12, Sect. 11208…

AKMaineIac

This looks pretty clear to me. Not sure how you figure he was hunting, was he shooting at a “wild animal or bird”?

“Shooting from or over a public paved
way: A person is guilty of hunting from or over
a public paved way if that person shoots at any
wild animal or wild bird from any public paved
way or within 10 feet of the edge of the pavement
of the public paved way or from within the
right-of-way of any controlled access highway or
discharges any firearm or crossbow over a public
paved way (any road treated with bituminous or
concrete material).

But we’ll see if it ever gets to court. LOL

Anonymous

if anybody can make a federal case out of this i am sure it is chris almy,and the twits who support him

Anonymous

“Cookson did not have the names of either the homeowner or the Dumpster truck driver. The homeowner declined to give his name to the Bangor Daily News.
Is it THAT hard to look up the owner in the Registry of Deeds?

What would be the compelling reason to quote this unnamed source?

Anonymous

Im glad the home owner declined his name, no ones business…

Anonymous

Someone shooting a firearm over a public way is everyone’s business.

Anonymous

Nope….. Only in your little nosey mind…..

Anonymous

“Public.” Think about it.

Anonymous

You guys crack me up…. Cant get by without gossip… Have to know every little thing that goes on…

Anonymous

There has never been and will never be any gun that hurts or kills anyone by itself is all i will say.

Anonymous

That sounds like a threat ,if you were a conservative poster you would be banned.

Anonymous

Love the comments below, I see you guys had to wind Kevin up tighter than a 8 day clock.
Reminds me back in the day while I was in sniper training 1000 feet below the ocean in a sub…. That was the day..